Crimson Armor
by lynniehere
Summary: Kumiko Mizushima, fondly called "Mika", is the new kid on the block from New York City. From a troubling past that made her a guarded person, what would be Kurama's role in her new life in Japan?
1. Chapter 1

It was around 8 when my alarm woke me up.

Jetlag had a weird effect on me. You could just imagine how long it took for us to arrive in Japan. I felt no trace of any throbbing pain on my temples or that odd popping feeling you get in your ears when you're way up in the air.

"Wonder what's for breakfast," I said to myself as I groggily went down the flight of stairs of our new home, rubbing heavily on my eyes.

The smell of blueberries, maple syrup and that distinctive starchy smell of homemade batter welcomed me as I entered our kitchen.

"An all-American breakfast for our first morning in Japan! Oh the irony." My big sister laughed at herself.

"Can't take the American out of the Japanese, eh?" I laughed as I added more irony into what she said.

"That's a record. 3 ironic statements in one sentence? As for that, add more syrup to your waffles."

I continued chuckling on how weird me and my sister talked. My brother wasn't as weird as us so he was a good balance to the mix.

We just moved in from New York. Although we're of Japanese descent, our parents being whole Japanese, we practically grew up in America. My parents thought it was a good idea for us to be sent to Japan for good, since there were people who were giving us threats due to our blossoming family business in retail. We agreed to their decision, just as long as they'll come follow us after they're done fixing legal papers for our business.

I happily chewed on my maple doused waffles until I realized that my brother wasn't with us.

"Kari, where's Hiro?" I asked my sister.

"He's gone to that new school of yours. Meiou Private Academy?"

"Oh, right." I sighed.

Going to a new school was not a very light subject for me. I was so used to attending an all-girls school near our neighborhood back in New York, the only male contact I had was that of my father's, brothers and boys I knew from badminton training.

"Hey, cheer up." She smiled. "You know your Japanese characters, you've got it down to a t. Coping with your new school won't be that hard."

I gave my sister a reassuring smile, telling myself deep down that that wasn't the problem I was thinking of.

Boys. Boys. Boys.

Why can't they just send me to an all-girls school? I mean, some girls are snotty. That's a given. But boys?

"Please make some friends." she gave me a concerned look. "Get yourself a boyfriend too while you're at it."

I stuck out my tongue at her and then retreated to my room.

"Please don't be a brat," I told myself as I laid flat on the wooden floor.

It took a good 10 minutes before I realized that I didn't want to spend the rest of the day locked up in my room. So I decided to be adventurous and take a stroll down the neighborhood.

I went with a pair of skin tight jeans, a loose top, a pair of ratty old sneakers and a belt bag.

"I'm going out!" I called out, not really asking for permission.

It was seriously a lovely day out. Unlike our neighborhood back in NYC, the streets in our new neighborhood had fewer people walking around, not to mention the streets looking spotless.

Different stores aligned the streets but I went ahead with going to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for a new pastry recipe I was experimenting on.

After getting all the ingredients that I needed, I started lining up at the cashier.

In front of me was a girl wearing a long sleeved top and skirt, with brown hair, who stood probably a few inches shorter than me. I couldn't help but notice the amount of stuff she was about to buy, considering that she had a sling wrapped around her right arm.

I then lightly tapped on her shoulder.

"Hi, miss. You really shouldn't be carrying all those." I motioned my hand to her. "Here, let me help you."

She looked at me, surprised.

"Don't worry I'm not going to steal them." I laughed.

She gave me a smile and said, "Thank you. That's very kind of you."

After paying for our groceries, we headed out.

"Thank you so much for helping me carry all these." she said as she gave me a slight bow.

"No, please, it's alright." I waved my hand to her way of showing gratitude. I forgot how respectful people were here. "I was just really concerned with how you'll be feeling carrying all these with the look of your arm. You should really take care of that so it would heal sooner."

"Noted, but I had no choice but to do grocery shopping for my family. My dad's away to the wet market while my mother's at home dealing with a fever."

"If that's the case, I should be helping you until you reach your house." I said as I gave her a small smile.

"Is that oka-"

"Out of my way!" a man screamed from behind.

"My purse!" The girl I just helped out screamed frantically.

Great, just great.

I was so infuriated with what just happened that I didn't even had time to think. I started running with all my might, trying to catch this filth who even dared pick on a girl who obviously had no chance going up against him with her condition.

"You're going to pay, bud!" I yelled in between long strides.

We were now dashing like crazy through the streets, going between alleys I've never seen before, but I was in no doubt alone. I could hear a string of people running after us, possibly trying to get a piece of this guy too.

It was then until we reached a dead end and we had nowhere to go. This guy was latching on to the purse for dear life, dripping with bullets of sweat down his face.

"You are so dead!" I yelled as I charged towards him, aiming for the purse like it was my prey.

"I need the money!" He said as he swiftly drew a knife from his pocket. "You're out of luck, kid."

Okay, I was not expecting this.

I started backing up from where I was, the man smirking as he playfully tried poking me with his pocket knife.

Darn it, think of something quick Mika. Think, think, think!

I reached for my belt bag and quickly rummaged to get what I hope was my pepper spray.

"You know it was smart of you to be wearing a belt bag, you tomboy. I could've gotten that as well!"

Irritated with what he said, I drew the pepper spray out of my bag and pushed its top once I got a good distance from his eyes.

"Ahhh!" The man yelled in agony.

It was a no-brainer for me to snatch the purse from his meaty hands and kick him straight on the groin.

Within a matter of seconds, he was helplessly screaming in pain on the concrete.

I started hearing people filing up behind me, worried with what might have happened to me dealing with this crook. Some of them quickly held the guy up, making sure that he wasn't going anywhere. I could now hear police sirens coming nearer.

"It was wrong of you to be messing with a New Yorker, you piece of filth."

I quickly dashed back to the brown haired girl, catching my breath in between.

"Here's... your purse."

The girl was almost in tears, thanking me over and over again.

"If it weren't for my arm, I'd take that guy out with a huge slap on the face right then and there." she grinned, finally calming down from the consecutive thank you's she has given me.

"You bet," I grinned. "But I don't think I'm tough as you are. I think it was the adrenaline."

"Still, thank you so much for all the trouble you've gone through for me. I don't even know you but you still helped me out. I'm Keiko." she smiled as she reached out her free hand.

"Mika." I winked as I took her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

"How's the food?" Mr. Yukimura asked me, smiling while wiping a wet plate.

"It's great, really good food." I grinned as I took a sip from the hot soup my meal was paired with. "Thank you for having me."

"The pleasure is ours. If it weren't for you, my wife wouldn't be able to take in her medicines for a week."

I gave a smile in return.

"Mika, tell me you're going to school on Monday." Keiko chimed in, gesturing to her father that she would continue cleaning the dishes.

Wow, this girl really is something, I though to myself. Even with her injured arm she still wanted to help out with the chores.

"I am, actually."

"Great!" A glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Which school are you going to?"

"Meiou Private Academy," I smiled as I held my breath for a few seconds, hoping that we'd be going to the same school.

"Shoot," she frowned. "I go to Sarayashiki Junior High."

"Oh. It would be nice going to a school where you know at least one person." I looked down at my cold cup of tea.

"Well, consider me a friend." Keiko smiled whole-heartedly. "It must be tough being the new kid. But I can be of help. I want to be your friend, and I have other friends too who I can introduce you to. Living in a new place wouldn't be as tough, right?"

I didn't know who to thank. If it were Keiko, the universe or all the gods known to man. I was just really happy that I found a friend in my first day in Japan.

"Thank you so much," I grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. "You have no idea how much I appreciate that."

After a few more minutes of chit chat, I called home and asked my brother to fetch me since I had no idea how to go home from a neighborhood that was block away from ours.

 _Keiko's POV_

Just right after Mika left with her brother, Yusuke came in the restaurant.

"What's up, Keiko?"

"You jerk!" I snapped, throwing the wet towel I was holding at his direction. "You told me you'd come help me do the groceries today, my purse was almost stolen from me, didn't you know that?!"

"Hey!" he said as he dodged the wet towel. "I told you I can come with you after lunch, not in the morning. You know I sleep in on Saturdays!"

"That's not the point!" I scolded him.

I hated how Yusuke was a lazy oaf. He knew that I couldn't go to the groceries on my own because of my arm, but here he was wasting his morning away sleeping in when he could've just helped me. It's like he didn't care at all.

"Then what is?" he scratched his head, taking one of the seats in front of me.

I grunted. How shallow-minded could he be?

"My purse was almost stolen from me this morning. Good thing someone helped me get it back."

"Well, who is this guy?" he crossed his arms.

"You jealous?" I said, my anger started slipping away from me.

"O-of course not!" he said defensively. "I just wanted to know who this kind person was, you know, for helping the disabled out."

I felt my anger coming back to me like a ticking time bomb.

"You're a jerk," I turned my back from him. Anger was now replaced with disappointment. I wonder when he'll just grow up and be a man for a change. "And for your information, it was a girl who helped me out."

"Wow, that's nice to know." he smirked.

"Yeah, and I bet she can kick your butt anytime."

Although Mika told me she wasn't really that kind of girl, it was nice to tease Yusuke every now and then. It was my only way of getting back at his childish remarks, besides the slapping, of course.

"Really, now." he crossed his arms. "I'd love to meet her soon." he said, sarcasm written all over it.

"Actually, I want you guys to meet her," I said, dismissing his sarcasm. "She's new in town. She could use some friends. She's even attending Kurama's school."

"That's interesting, did you tell her you knew someone from her new school?"

"No," I sighed. "I didn't know what to tell her. I forgot Kurama's human name, I didn't want to tell her the name we're used to."

"It's Shuichi Minamino, you fruit loop." Yusuke made a face. "Anyway, she'll find out soon enough."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I said as I finished tidying up the dishes.

"Kurama might get himself a girlfriend after all," he smirked. "About time."

"You know Yusuke, not everyone thinks the same as you." I looked at him sternly.

"What? There's nothing wrong with a human falling in love with a demon. Look at Kuwabara, we're just waiting for Yukina to get the 411."

I chuckled at his statement. It is true, Kuwabara's really patient with Yukina.

"Let's just drop this conversation," Yusuke said in defeat. "Need a hand with something?"

He approached to where I was and started scrubbing the sink.

 _Mika's POV_

"You did what?!" Kari almost screamed her head off.

"Told you, sis." Hiro said as he took a carton of milk out of the fridge. "She practically chased and pepper sprayed a crook in one of the alleys downtown."

"What if I didn't buy you that pepper spray?" My sister crossed her arms, letting us know that this was an introduction to a very long lecture. "Do you think mom and dad would be delighted to see you as a cold-blooded corpse when they arrive?"

"Well..." I tried thinking of what to say. "You did buy it for me and I was able to bring it along with me. And I'm still breathing now, aren't I? Shouldn't we celebrate because of that?"

Hiro started laughing to himself on his side of the counter of the dining area.

"You're impossible," Kari breathed out. "Anyway, tomorrow we'll be spending the day roaming around town. You should know the streets, so the next time you decide on having lunch at a stranger's house, you won't be calling Hiro to fetch you."

Both of them laughed after.

"Okay, okay." I said as I went to the living room and turned on the television.

 _That's a wrap for Chapter 2! So far, Mika seems to have established a strong friendship with Keiko. A little background on the characters: I envision Kira as a Shizuru kind of sister, while Hiro as a more relaxed older brother. Mika's physical appearance is nothing out of the ordinary. She has brown hair and brown eyes and a few inches shorter than Kurama. You'll get to know more about her when the story progresses. Please do comment or send me a private message if you have any suggestions or comments on what you think, since I'm basing this story on the series._


	3. Chapter 3

Normally, I take my own sweet little time when I get ready for school. An hour, max. But this time, it took me around 30 minutes to bathe, make my lunch, eat breakfast and every other morning routine necessary a student should accomplish before getting ready for school.

"I'm going to school now!" I called out to no one in particular.

Betting on my siblings' sleeping disposition on the living room couch, they stayed up all night watching a suspense film, potato chips and a few soda cans resting on their hands.

It's pretty hard to believe that my sister, a licensed anesthesiologist, and my brother, a fresh graduate from computer engineering, would be described in such manner.

After literally sprinting my way to school, I arrived at Meiou in the nick of time. Well, just a few seconds before the teacher came, of course.

"Good morning," he smiled. "You must be Ms. Mizushima. Welcome to Meiou. Please, do come inside. We'll introduce you to your classmates."

After wiping the sweat dripping down to the sides of my forehead, I smiled and gave a nod to the teacher who looked like he's been teaching his whole life.

"Good morning, everyone." he greeted as we both entered the well-lit classroom.

"Good morning, Mr. Takahari," the students replied.

"It's nice to see familiar faces in this class," he said as he took his seat. "But for this school year, a new face will be joining us."

The teacher smiled at me once again, motioning me to his side.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Kumiko Mizushima..." I said, doing my best not to sound awkward at all. "But please, do call me Mika. Me and my siblings just moved in from America a few days ago. Although I'll be missing the busy streets of New York, it's nice to finally be in the country from where I truly came from."

"Tell the class what your interests are, Ms. Mizushima." he nodded at my direction.

"Oh, right." I adjusted from where I was standing. "I write and cook during my free time. I treat these hobbies as my creative space. I think it's important for people to do what they really like to keep them sane from the more serious things in life... like school."

Some of the students laughed at this point. Three girls in particular smiled at me while I was in front.

"Yes," the teacher chimed in. "I agree. We all must have hobbies to keep us sane. Education is important, but being in our own vibe is just as important. Thank you for that realization, Mika. You may take your seat on the empty chair near the window."

I gave the teacher a slight nod and headed to my seat. When I was now sitting down, I noticed a boy who was staring outside the window. He definitely stood out from the rest, his red hair and green eyes making him physically distinct.

He shifted his view when the teacher started to talk again.

"Now, please get your Literature textbooks and turn to page 163."

After reading the Trojan War and the class giving various standpoints regarding the story, the bell rang signaling it was lunch break.

I was ready to leave my desk and go to the field to have my lunch until a group of girls approached me.

"Hi, Mika," one of them said. "Do you have any companion? Would you want to join us for lunch?"

"Actually, it's just me." I gave a weak smile. "Sure."

"Great!" The girl with jet black hair grinned.

After spending time with these girls, I came to know that their names were Mitsuki, Naoko and Atsuki.

"You know, Mr. Takahari is one of the best teachers in this school." Naoko said, wiping off mayo from her cheek. "He's literally my favorite."

"He's really nice to all of us, plus he gives really high grades." Atsuki continued.

"Yeah," Mitsuki agreed. "Just don't get him worked up or we're all toast."

"Got it," I said, after chewing the squid roll I made from earlier.

"Tell me, Mika. Why don't you want to be called Kumiko?"

"Well..." I trailed off. "Since I grew up in the States, it was easier to be called by a name that wasn't that foreign. I mean, it just happened that way. The name got stuck with everyone else, and I liked it as well, so I was called Mika eversince."

After a few more gossips that were essential for my stay here in Meiou, the girls started to talk about boys.

"Misato's new hairstyle totally fits him!"

"I liked his hair more last semester," Naoko frowned at Atsuki.

"You know Atsuki, Hideki won't be too pleased if he hears about you drooling over his best friend's hairstyle." Mitsuki cheekily grinned at her friend.

"You wouldn't!"

Lost with what they were talking about, but remembering the boy with red hair from earlier, I had to ask them about him.

Not that I was eyeing on him or anything.

"What about the guy with red hair?"

"You mean Shuichi?" Mitsuki asked.

"He's the nicest guy out of all the boys in class," Naoko smiled.

"He's smart too, not to mention good-looking." Atsuki added. "He's practically a girl's dream guy. But he hasn't dated anyone, not even once."

"Is he really all that?" I asked in disbelief. "He was looking out the window when I went to my seat awhile ago."

"Yeah, he's been doing that a lot recently. He's quiet most of the time, can't help but feel like he's the mysterious type of guy."

"Don't tell me you're crushing on him already, Mika." Naoko nudged my arm. "Don't get your hopes up too high, though. A lot of girls tried asking him out but they were all declined."

"No, it's not that." I dismissed any thought of me asking a guy out. "I only noticed him awhile ago because he was the only one not looking at me while I was at the front. I have to thank him one day for doing that."

After packing up our lunch, we headed back to the classroom. Since our Literature class was cut short, we agreed that we'd continue after lunch.

"Now everyone, please settle down," Mr. Takahari said as he adjusted his glasses. "I know it's only the start of the school year, but it's really important that we get used to the fact that all of you are now in high school. So that means extra work, unlike before. But please, do not be disheartened. As your teacher, I promise to make every project we do more fun so the experience each of us will have will be more fruitful."

He took a deep long breath and rubbed his temples.

"For your first assignment, I want all of you to write a movie report. Of course, given that this is a Literature class, select movies that are based on a novel or a book. I took the liberty of choosing your partners as all of you will be benefiting from this. I will be posting the names on the bulletin board for everyone to see. Please work on this for the week, I'll be hearing all of your reports by next week. That is all, you are dismissed."

The class shuffled from their seats and proceeded to the bulletin board where the names were posted. After most of the students left, I decided to take a quick look at the paper.

"Mizushima..." I muttered under my breath, searching for my partner's surname.

"Minamino," the said boy spoke from my side. "Looks like we're partners."

Lo and behold, I was paired with the boy looking out the window.

He looked at me and smiled, reaching out his hand.

"I'm Shuichi Minamino," he smiled and took my hand that I politely extended. "I feel lucky being partnered with a person who writes for fun."

"Hi, I'm Kumiko." I said, looking intently at his emerald eyes. It was my first time looking at such green eyes, it was like I was lost just by looking at how bright it was. "I, um... They say you're pretty smart, so I'm just as lucky."

Come to think of it, the last part sounded really weird.

"You mean Mika, right?" he stiffled a laugh.

So he was listening?

"Perhaps we should start discussing about which movie we'll be using for our report," he said.

"We should, but I'm afraid I have to go now. I have to go some place else."

"Understood," he smiled. "Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow. I'll see you around, then."

Shuichi gave me another polite smile and proceeded to fixing his things.

After fixing my own things, I watched as he retreated from the classroom, probably off to his next class.

 _"He can't be that perfect, of course not." I thought to myself._


	4. Chapter 4

"Man, I suck at Science." I said to myself as I stared at the huge F mark written on my Biology quiz paper.

I wouldn't have failed that bad if I only knew that the professor would be giving out a quiz on the first day of school. Anyway, that didn't matter anymore.

I was on my way to the local grocery store to meet up with Keiko. We agreed on having a cooking hang out so I could learn how they made the grilled terriyaki I ate at their restaurant the other day. It was also a good enough reason so we could get to know each other better and maybe even learn a couple of recipes.

"Keiko!" I called and waved at her. She was waiting for me in front of the store, her arm seeming to look healthy again.

"Hi, Mika. What's that you're holding?" Keiko smiled as she pointed at the paper I was holding.

"Oh, this? It's my Biology quiz paper. But I guess it's trash now. I suck at Science, see?" I laughed as I shamelessly raised the paper to her. "By the way, your arm looks better."

She let out a small laugh and said, "Oh my, don't worry. There's always a next time. And yeah, it was already healing when we met. I just had the sling removed last night."

She moved her arm around to show how in top shape it was.

After purchasing everything that we needed, we headed back to the front of the store and waited a couple more minutes.

"Are we waiting for someone?" I asked. My anticipation in knowing how the sumptuous grilled teriyaki was made grew by the minute, not to mention that I was pretty darn hungry as well.

"We're waiting for Yusuke and a friend," she said. "Atsuko asked if we could cook over at their place instead. She didn't know what to cook... Plus she was pretty persistent, so I gave in."

Yusuke and a friend? Atsuko? I looked at her like a lost child. Who were these people?

"Oh! Silly me," her face beamed, like she just had a lightbulb moment. "Yusuke's a close friend. His mom's name is Atsuko."

"Hey, Keiko!" A voice not too far from us called out.

"Speaking of the devil," she smiled at me and turned to the boy but frowned. "What took you so long?"

"Kuwabara had a little too much fun at the arcade," the boy with sleeked back hair said in defense. Looking quite annoyed at the orange head next to him.

"Hey, don't blame this all on me, Urameshi!"

"Uh, guys-" Keiko tried calming them down. "This is Mika."

"Oh! Hi there!" The boy with orange hair grinned, looking like he was the happiest guy on Earth. "The name's Kazuma Kuwabara, but you can just call me Kuwabara."

"And I'm Yusuke," the boy who looked like he put too much gel on his hair smirked. "It's great to finally meet the person who helped Keiko out in her time of need. Helping the handicapped is always a good deed."

"Yeah, says the boy who was supposed to be with me during that time." Keiko responded, annoyed.

"It's nice to meet you guys," I politely smiled, trying to not mind the tension building up between Yusuke and Keiko.

The walk to Yusuke's home was nothing short of eventful. Keiko and Yusuke kept on bickering, a dog almost chased us down one of the alleys and I managed to throw a three pointer in the first trash bin I saw along the way - my quiz paper being the ball.

"Are they always like that?" I whispered to Kuwabara, gesturing my head at Keiko and Yusuke who were still at it.

"Most of the time, yeah. You'll get used to it."

"What about you Kuwabara? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Kuwabara started to blush and smile and took a few seconds to process my question. "Uh, actually, I'm still asking her out."

"She must be a tough cookie," I smiled at the thought.

"She's practically the nicest girl I know..." he trailed off, his face still in a light shade of red. "It's been almost a year since I met her but she still won't go out on a date with me."

"You know, Kuwabara. Just because she doesn't want to go out with you now doesn't mean she'll be like that forever. Just wait it out more. You should be thankful, too. Girls who play hard to get are usually for keeps."

"...or maybe she just doesn't like you." Yusuke decided to butt in.

"Stop eavesdropping! You have no concern of this!"

At this point, I was starting to have second thoughts if I made the right decision in befriending these people. Seemed like they all had a short-temper.

Once we arrived at Yusuke's apartment, his mother greeted us with some store-bought cookies and tea. Their apartment was alright considering that it was only the two of them who lived here.

"Nice work, mom," Yusuke rolled his eyes as we took off our shoes. "Great to see that you decided to clean up the house. I can totally not see the stash of empty bottles you got there at the back."

"Be nice to our guests, Yusuke." Atsuko firmly said as she leaned against their living room wall. "I'm your mother, show me at least a bit of respect. I cleaned, didn't I? Now shut up and eat the snacks I bought for you."

"Yeah, yeah," he threw his arms behind his head, serving as a cradle. "Mom, this is Mika. She was the one who pepper sprayed that guy who almost took Keiko's purse the other day."

It's official. I was now dubbed as the-girl-who-pepper-sprayed-the-bad-guy.

"It's so nice to finally meet you," Atsuko delightfully said. "Thank you for doing all of us a favor and helping Keiko out. Who knows what could've happened if you weren't there. We'd be lost without our sweet little Keiko, isn't that right, boy?"

This, of course, sent Yusuke and Keiko to the hot seat.

After an hour of total in cooking, Keiko's special grilled teriyaki was sitting on the table together with my pound cake which was generously sliced so everyone can go for seconds or even thirds.

"Wow! Thank you for the food!" Yusuke and Kuwabara proclaimed in unison as they laid down their chopsticks.

"Good work, girls," Atsuko joined in. "You two should be business partners. That was a lovely meal!"

"Please, you guys. You keep up the praise and we might as well be your personal team of chefs, isn't that right, Keiko?" I laughed and looked at Keiko, who was equally as pleased with everyone's feedback regarding our cooking. It was honestly nice of them to like our cooking, most especially these were people who I just met, so it meant extra to me.

One tv program and another round of dessert later, I decided to call it a day. Kuwabara and Yusuke were kind enough to escort me and Keiko home, but Yusuke's mother insisted on Keiko to stay so they could bond more. Apparently they haven't seen each other much over the school break. I then gladly accepted Kuwabara's offer on bringing me home instead.

"It's pretty dark outside. It's best if I accompany you back to your home." he said, slipping his school shoes back on.

"You sure, Kuwabara?" I asked. These people may be stubborn and short-tempered, but they were darn good-hearted people.

"Of course!" he said giving me a thumbs up.

After Yusuke, Keiko and Atsuko bid us goodbye, we headed out to the street and started walking back to my place.

"So, how was your first day of school, Mika?"

"It was okay," I absent-mindedly answered. "Except for the failing my first Biology quiz part."

"Enough with the academics, met any nice boys?"

"Mmm," my mind started to drift back to the boy who had red locks and the greenest set of eyes I've ever seen in my life. I forgot he had a name, Shuichi. "No one in particular."

 _Kuwabara's POV_

Earlier in the afternoon, Yusuke thought of a plan.

 _"We know nothing about Kurama, okay, Kuwabara? Let's stick with that."_

 _"Why are we doing this again?" I didn't see the point in this plan of his._

 _"Because, pea brain," Yusuke looked at me from the corner of his eye. "It won't be a surprise if she finds out that we knew someone from her school."_

 _"But we're not even sure if they're in the same class," I said, a matter of factly._

 _"True," Yusuke nodded. "Still, it adds up to the excitement."_

Man, I hope I don't slip up and say something about Kurama.

"Enough with the academics, met any nice boys?" I said, looking at the same color uniform Mika had on as Kurama's uniform. Of course hers was a girl's uniform.

"No one in particular,"

Darn. I guess they aren't classmates? On the other hand, I could rub it in Urameshi's face that they aren't classmates, making this plan of his a complete waste of time.

"But the red string of fate," I hummed.

"The red string of fate?" she asked, her brown eyes got slightly bigger.

"Yeah," I smiled as I pointed at the red invisible thread tied to my pinkie. "Everyone has it. Think of it as you connected to your soulmate."

"So are you saying that my soulmate is actually one of my schoolmates?" she questioned fondly. It looked like she didn't believe me, but at the same time she was interested enough to actually hear me out.

"Well, maybe," I smiled, catching a glimpse of the red thread tied around her pinky finger. "We'll never know."

It wasn't long until I started to sense like someone was approaching us from the other end of the street. Ever since the Dark Tournament, my spirit energy got even more stronger and so did my spirit awareness.

"Hold on," I put my hand before Mika to block her from continuing to walk. "Someone's coming."

"Kuwabara?" she asked, her tone filled with worry.

"Hehehe," a voice came before me. "Long time no see, human. How is Team Urameshi doing?"

A demon? But how the heck did he get to the Human World?!

"My my," he continued. "It's such a shame that Toguro wasn't able to finish you off. You know, we demons pay quite the price to see blood and guts fly around the arena. We enjoy it even more if it is owned by humans. Maybe it's time I got my money back..."

The demon started walking to my direction, but he caught a glimpse of Mika, so he stopped on his tracks.

"What's this? Another human?" he grinned mischievously. "I guess it's my lucky day after all..."

"Run, Mika!" I screamed at Mika but she was frozen from the horror that was unfolding before her eyes.

"I... can't.. I think.. I'm stuck.."

Tears started to form in her eyes. This was enough reason for me to draw out my Spirit Sword. But if I did that, well, this might cause mayhem between Koenma, me and the rest of the guys. But I can't let her die!

"You punk!" I said as I threw a solid fist at the demon's face.

"Heeheehee!" the demon wiped the blood away from his mouth. "Why don't you use your Spirit Sword, you human? Finish me now or I'll have this girl for dinner!"

"Aaahh!" Mika screamed right before the demon launched at her.

"Spirit Sword!" I screamed in command, my hand now holding the orange bolt of spirit energy I had.

Before I knew it, the demon was shishkabobbed right before he laid even a finger on Mika.

It didn't make any difference, though. Since she fainted and fell flat on the concrete ground.

Koenma's going to kill me.

 _Mika's POV_

The next day, I arrived at school almost around lunch time. Apparently, I fainted last night and Keiko, Yusuke and Kuwabara brought me home explaining that I passed out while me and Kuwabara were on our way home. Kari didn't want me to go to school, but I insisted since me and Shuichi planned to meet up to discuss our Literature homework.

I was sitting at one of the school benches, eating the lunch prepared by my sister. I was deep in thought about last night's events.

"What the heck just happened last night?" I thought to myself.

A bright orange bolt appeared in Kuwabara's hands which basically obliterated that strange creature who almost charged at me. Was Kuwabara really human? Or was he just as strange as that creature?

"I hope your head won't explode from all that thinking," I heard an amused voice approach me.

"Shuichi?"

I turned to see the brightest pair of emerald eyes.

"Hi," he smiled as he approached me. "I was hoping to see you in Biology class but you weren't around. Did you happen to skip that class?"

He was in my Biology class? Darn! I'd be so embarrassed if he found out that I failed the first quiz.

"Uh, yeah- But I wasn't lazy or anything, I just arrived, actually."

Shuichi sat beside me on the bench. He was starting to peel off the package of the sandwich he was holding.

"Are you sick?" he asked, a hint of concern evident in his voice.

"No," I tried not to mind how nice he was for a popular kid. "But my sister insists that I'm out of it today. She yold me that I fainted last night."

He looked a bit shocked but still continued to munch on his sandwich. "Are you sure you're okay?"

If you see a creature that resembled to that of a demon who threatened to kill you on your third day in a country you just migrated to and to top it all off, a new friend of yours just exposed his supernatural powers to save your life right before your eyes... What would you feel then, Shuichi?

Of course, I didn't tell him any of that.

"I'm okay, really," I shot him a reassuring smile. "But enough with me, got any ideas for our Literature homework?"

After a lengthy discussion on movie selections to choose from, we narrowed down our options to two: To Kill a Mockingbird and Peter Pan.

"I haven't read Peter Pan, though." Shuichi said as he stared at the piece of paper we were using to put down notes . "Let alone have I watched the film."

"I have a copy of both," I smiled. Peter Pan was my favorite. As a kid, it was the only fairy tale that stuck to me.

"Great, do you have a VCD player at home?"

"Yeah, we do."

"We have one, too." he said as he brushed off the sandwich remains that formed on his lap. "Should we watch it at your place or mine?"

I was stunned. Was he seriously considering to watch the movie at one of our homes together? I was thinking more of I'll let him borrow the CD and he could watch it on his own... but considering that we were paired up, I guess it would be better if we did this together.

"Whatever's convenient for you. I live at Aoyama Street. It's just a few blocks away from here. If you want, we could just watch it at my place."

"It's decided, then." he gave out another polite smile. "Are you up for it later after school?"

"Mhmm," I nodded. "We should get a headstart so we can have more time to think of what we can write on the report."

"Agreed, but before that, how about let's finish our lunch?" he stiffled a laugh. I barely touched my food when he talked to me.

I felt my face warm up and let out a small laugh as well.

Japan was looking good for me so far, maybe except that tiny detail about what happened last night. Kuwabara sure had some explaining to do.

 _That's a wrap for this chapter! Things will get more cutesy soon, I promise. Thank you for the reviews **Julius Night** and **ScorpionFantasy**! I appreciate you finding my story interesting, it's been years since I've written a fic so I sometimes find it hard to come up with stuff to write. I agree, I tried my best in making Mika a realistic character, like not being perfect or anything. :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Yusuke's POV_

"What the heck happened last night?" Botan said as she sat down, unfolding the briefcase which had a screen on it.

I sure hope Koenma wasn't going to mount our butts on his wall or something.

"A low class demon," Kuwabara sighed, folding his arms as we gathered around their kitchen table. "He was supposed to kill Mika, so I had to use my Spirit Sword."

"I see, so is this Mika a new member of the gang then?" her eyes shimmered with delight.

"Sorta?" I chimed in. "Keiko was the first one who met her."

Our conversation was cut short when the screen lit, showing Binky Breath in all his glory.

"I suppose you all know why I asked for this little meeting," his tone was serious, but I still found it hilarious even if I knew him for a little over a year already... him being a toddler and giving us orders and all.

"Please, Koenma, sir! Kuwabara doesn't mean any harm for the Spirit World!" Botan shouted.

"Oh please don't cut my head off!" Kuwabara clasped his hands together and almost pleaded. "I didn't know what to do, he was gonna kill her!"

"Quiet, you two! I know that. But you have to consider the danger if human beings knew about the Demon and Spirit World. We just can't afford them knowing that other worlds exist.." he huffed. "I'm just not sure if we can trust her."

"But Koenma, she's a nice girl. She actually saved Keiko's life the other day, isn't that right, Urameshi?"

"Mhmm," I nodded. "I know that we can just erase her memory of that incident, but I think.."

"I understand," the toddler nodded in agreement, seemingly thinking the same thing as I was. "I guess the best thing to do is talk to her. Convince her that we mean no harm and to keep this only to herself. We can't afford the news spreading out."

"She's actually a school mate of Kurama's," I smirked, even if I wasn't sure if they knew each other at all.

"Ooh!" Botan squealed. Koenma nodded again in agreement. "So that settles it. The more we need to keep an eye on her. I think she's going to play a big role in your lives, Yusuke. So I guess that covers it. Botan, find out more on how that demon got to slip through the human world. The sooner we find out, the easier it is for us to get things done."

And with that, the screen went black.

"I wonder how that demon got in the human world..." Botan trailed off.

"Beats me, but I've got a feeling this is a new case for us," Kuwabara said as he got up. "But we've got this, if anything goes wrong, right Urameshi?!"

Kuwabara threw his fist into the air.

"You got it," I smiled at his confident form.

Something tells me that this was going to be harder than our previous cases.

 _Mika's POV_

"I'm home!" I said as we entered into our humble abode, Shuichi right behind me.

We placed our book bags on the coffee table and sat on the living room couch. I still didn't understand why most of the students here had book bags instead of regular backpacks.

"Hey, Mika-chan!" Kari beamed from the kitchen, poking her head out to take a look at me. "Who's this handsome boy you brought home with you?"

I rolled my eyes, I wasn't sure if she was trying to hit on Shuichi. She was 5 years older than me, too. But she was pretty serious with her boyfriend back in NYC, the long distance relationship might be working its toll on her already.

Shuichi held back a chuckle. "I'm Minamino Shuichi. It's nice to meet you."

Kari came closer and stared at Shuichi from head to toe. She had this habit of thoroughly looking at people if she met them for the first time. "So your first name is Shuichi and your last name is Minamino, right?"

"That is correct,"

"Great!" she grinned. "We're still adjusting to the culture here, just making sure."

I looked at Kari, trying to send her a signal that she was free to leave now and do whatever she pleased so we could start working on our movie review already.

"Well, I better be going. Mika's giving me her signature stare already. If you two want anything to eat, just knock on my door. I'll be busy talking to Louis, you know, my boyfriend back in NYC who I love dearly," she said, emphasizing on the last part. "I hope you got note of that, sister dear. I won't be taking your boyfriend from you if that's what you're thinking."

With a wink and a pat on my head, she left both me and Shuichi in a confused state.

"Your sister's quite the character," Shuichi smiled at me.

Man, I hope he disregarded everything she said to him.

"You don't know the half of it.."

It took us probably more time than to be casually watching a movie. We took notes on anything we found unique to this movie and which had a deeper meaning to it. Just like the time Peter Pan had to call Wendy as their "mother" even if he was starting to have a romantic interest with her, which in the movie was a bit hard to catch and also the scene where he was talking to Mrs. Darling through their frosted window, claiming that they both couldn't have her.

"So what do you think?" I turned to Shuichi as I plugged off the VCR. "They really knew how to turn it into a fairy tale. The book had a more eerie feeling to it."

He took a while to answer. "It's a great movie. It really shows the importance of family, which I like very much. I'm really close to my mother so anyone who loves their mother dearly can relate to this movie a lot."

I smiled as Shuichi answered my question. It was nice to know that he's a family-oriented kind of guy, which I might add isn't very common these days.

"We've got the emotional part sorted then," I said as I took out my notebook to list down points. "What else can we say about it?"

Once we were finished with the most part of our movie review, Kari laid out dinner on the table.

"Eat up, you guys!" she said as she scurried to the living room to watch her favorite action series.

"This looks great," Shuichi smiled as he looked at the meal prepared by my loving (yet annoying) sister. "Is it always this festive when it comes to dinner time at your house?"

"This is normal for us," I smiled, trying to sound as humble and truthful as I could because it was true. This was normal for us. We were taught to make every meal look appetizing for the eyes and taste even better. Everyday should be made as a day where food should bring people together and this was a motto our family held dear. "We make use of what we can with our budget. So we can turn affordable ingredients into something better. Our mom taught us that food should always bring people together."

"I can see that your mother matters a big deal to you," he smiled genuinely. "If it's alright to ask, where is she?"

I was taken a back with his question and how genuine he sounded. "She's with my dad in America. It's kind of a long story why they had to be left there. But if you must know, they're fixing the paper works with our business there... which I now realize isn't a very long story."

He laughed at the latter. Probably he thought I was stupid for my own good.

"You've got a way with words, alright."

"I really think that I should stop talking.. God knows what I might say next," I mentally smacked myself on the head.

"Don't," he flashed another honest smile. "I think it's cute."

I stared at him for a good 2 seconds before reaching for a spoonful of rice and curry.

"I'm taking that as a sign that you're hungry," he continued on, taking a spoonful as well, a smile still evident on his lips.

I hope he didn't notice on how stupidly red my face was turning in to.

A few more chitchat made later with Shuichi by my nosey sister, we called it a day and agreed on adding a few finishing touches when we see each other in school again.

Just a few minutes before Shuichi left, we heard a knock on the door.

"Got more company there, sister dear?" Kari said, not looking away from the television screen.

I shrugged and opened the door. It was Keiko, Yusuke and Kuwabara. I didn't remember on having to meet up with them tonight, though.

"Hey, you guys," I squinted. "What's up?"

"May we talk to you for a minute?" Keiko looked worried.

"Sure, come on in."

Kari laid down plates on the table. "Good thing I made extra," she smiled at my friends. "Please enjoy the food."

"Thanks!" they said, non too reluctantly.

"Listen, Mika," Keiko started. "About last night.. Kuwabara told us that.."

"I think I was too tired that I started to hallucinate," I said, trying to laugh my head off but it came off as me trying too hard.

"No," Kuwabara looked down. "Everything you saw was real."

I looked at him intently. I didn't know if I should feel scared, but I didn't. Which I took as a good thing.

"You see, Mika.. What we're trying to say is.." Yusuke trailed off. "We kind of have, you know, powers."

"I know it's hard to take all of this in right now, but please take as much time as you need." Keiko gave me a reassuring smile. "And don't worry about me, I'm just as normal as you are."

It took some more time for them to say everything they had to say. Starting from the time Yusuke was killed by a car accident when he saved a child's life, him being a Spirit Detective in order to keep his life and to the Dark Tournament which they went through not so long ago.

"That's pretty awesome, you guys." I said, surprised that I was even able to think of something to say to them.

"So you're not freaked out or anything?" Kuwabara beamed, his spirits lifted up.

"I was at first," I gave a sheepish smile. "But after all this, I think it's pretty kickass to have awesome friends like you guys."

I was pretty sure that I heard a small "aww" coming from Keiko.

I guess I was in good hands after all.

 _That's a wrap for this chapter! It's storming in my country now and school's been out for 2 days already. Been wanting to update this fic for awhile now, but school didn't want me to. :( If anyone's wondering, I used the 2003 Peter Pan movie here. I intended to use the 1953 film for reference but the 2003 version is my favorite. I didn't have to watch it again for me to remember some of the scenes I wrote on here. Anyway, I hope you guys keep on reading this!_ _ **Shout out to whoever left the recent comment,**_ _I really appreciate that you find this interesting. I'm keeping things in a relatively slow pace so I hope you guys stick around for the next chapters. :) Thank you for tuning in!_


End file.
